Improvement in self-acting mules, billies, jennies, jack-frames, or stretching-frames



4 SheetsSheet 1.

R.ROBERTS.

SELF ACTING MULE.

No. 2,305. Patented Oct. 11, 1841.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. ROBERTS.

SELF ACTING MULE.

Nq. 2,305. Patented Oct. 11, 1841.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R. ROBERTS. SELF ACTING MULE.

110.2,305. Patented Oct. 11, 1841.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

R. ROBERTS.

SELF ACTING MULE.

No. 2,305. Patented 001;. 11, 1841.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD ROBERTS, OF MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2,305, dated October 11,1841.

To all whom it may concern r Be it known that I,-=RIGHARD ROBERTS, of

' Frames, and all other machines of this class;

and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description a The nature of my invention consistsin the following, videlicetz In an improvement or certain improvements of, in, or applicable to the -mule, billy,-jenny, stretchingd'rame, or any ;other machine: or machines, however. desigmated or-named,;nsed in spinning cotton,wool. orbtherfibrous substances, anddn which the spindles recede from andapproach'the rollers or other deliveries of the said fibrous substances, or in which such ,rollers or deliveries recedefrom and approach the Spindles.

In order to render,- moreintelligible the description oi those parts or movements which I have invented, and which I clfaim 'as of my invention, and in order to show the mode in which they operate, I shall describe them in conjunction with the mule now in irseffor spinning cotton,-or such parts thereof, as may be necessary format-purpose, though they are equally applicable to the other machines hereinbefore enumerated; and I shall-herein- .at'ter point out the particular-parts or movementswhichj I have invented, and which I claim'as pf m y sole invention.

I shall-assume that in the building in which my improved mule is to be worked there'is a main; horizontal shaft rnnuingparallel with the side walls of such building and driven by any adequate power. For the purpose of conneotin g myimproved mule with the main shaft I use such intermediate shafts, drums, or fast and loose pulleys as may be deemed necessary in ways well understood by machinists.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view, and Fig. 2 a top View, of a part of my improved mule. The other figures, 3 and 4, represent certain parts in detail, which will be presently described.

In each of these figures like parts are designated by the saute letters or figures.

In Fig. 1,1) is a fast andM a loose pulley on the shaft X which is commonly called the rim-shaft. From this shaft motion is cominunicated to the respective parts of the appara tus by suitable gearing.

N is a strap connected with a drum on the line-shaft of the factory. Thisstrap is made broad enough to partially cover theloose gearing-pulley M on the said shaft X; and thus keep it in continuous motion. On ,the rim- :shaft is a pulley, H, which may haveone or more grooves in it, as may belpreferred." The pulley H is commonly called the twist pulley.? Over this pulley is carried an endless band, which is conducted by carrier-pulley s,'one of which is seen at 9. From I these :itr'passes round a pulley, 7, under pulley at on the horiz'ontal shaft 3, thence again over pulley z -and under pulley/l, thence around a sliding carrier'- pulley, 8, and-to the twist-pulley H. On the shaft y, within the. square coupling-piece c c, to which the carriage. is :attached, is-anotlier grooved pulley,i.r,' from which a band passes to the drums in the carriage, and thus gives motion to the spindles in the us'ualiway.

. On thsh aft'A'fwh'ich I callthe ca'1n-shaft,? and which is parallel-with the rim-shaft X, there 'are fivetcam's for the purpose of connecting: and. unconn'ecting. the different parts of my improved male with the main shaft. Thus the strap-lever'B (see'also Fig. 3) is moved to and fro-byrthe 'camsc c, and the strap is thus moved upon'or 011' the i'ast pulley D, the'cains E ?E acting upon a lever, E, then through a horseshoe-spring, a, and a second lever, a moves the wheel F, with internal cone F attached firmly. to it. F, I call the backing oft wheeL- G, another cam, acts upon lever H, and puts the front roller catch-box in and out of gear. A pair of bevel-wheels, I I, for taking out the carriage, are alternately put in and out of gear by can] J and spring K, and a pair of bevel-wheels, 31 and 32, for taking in the carriage, are also alternately put in and out of gear by cain L and a spiral spring at K, drawing down the lever L; but in all these cases weights may he used as substitutes for the said springs. Attached to one side of the loose gearing-pulley M is a spur-wheel, O, which is in great part hid by the wheel 0, but is in part seen at O, and shown in the top view, Fig. 3. This drives the spur-wheel O,

fixed on the shaft of the" leather contact-pub ley. (Shown at Fig. 3.) On the cam-shaft is an iron pulley, P, fixed opposite to the leather contactpulley,ywhichleather contactpulley is in Fig. 1 hid by the iron pulley l, but is shown at O in Fig. 3. The iron pulley P has tourdiii'erent portions of its periphery cut away, as at P, in order to prevent contact except at particular times. I The'iron pulley P and the cam-shaft are carried by contact with the contact-pulley 0 round in the direction of the arrow until they are stopped by the escape-lever Q, acting against the projecting pieces on the escape-plate R.

The cam-shaft -A is made to move on its axis in order to putthe different parts of the mule in and out of gear in the following manner: On the.back of the escape-plate R are four pins, S, successively acted upon by the spring T, which is placed in'such a position with regard to those pins as to turn the iron contact-pulley a little in the direction of the arrow whenever the projection at the end of the lever Q, is removed from being in contact with any one of the three projections on the escape-plate, whichprojections are at different distances from the center of' the escape plate R, or when the finger-U on the end of the cam-shaft A passes through the notch in the stop-plate V, and when, by the action or the spring T the iron contact-pulley is so turned a little, the leather contact-pulley presses against it and turns it round until one of the four indents found in the periphery of the iron contact-pulley P arrives'opposite the leather contact-pulley 0. where it is again held either by the ringer at the endof the'cam-sna-i't A'or by one of the projections on the escape-plate 1t coming against the projections on the escapelever-Q. On the back of rim-shaft X is a pinion, Y, which, through a train of wheels,

turns a shaft, Z, on the other end of which is a miter-wheel, 1. This gives motion to the rollers through a miter-wheel and catchbox, 2, which catch-box is thrown inand out of gear as occasion requires by the action of the cam-shaft and cam Gr. Through the same train of wheels a shaft, 3, is made to turn shaft 4 by means of a pair ofbevel-wheels, I I. On the shaft 4 four scrolls are fixed, the outline of which is seen at d d, and they are fully represented in Fig. 3. To two of these scrolls the bands for taking out the] carriage are attached, and after having passed a sufficient number of times round them and over carrierpulleys are each made fast to the carriage in the usual way, and thus the carriages are made to recede from the rollers. So soon as the carriage arrives at the end of the stretch its progress is arrested by a stud, 6, coming in contact with and'disengaging drop-latch 'l", bywhichthe long lever S on the floor is allowed to fall on the drop-latch 9. At the other end of long lever S is a stud, 10. Attached to it is-a rod, 11, which is joined to escape-lever Q. The other end of the long. lever S, having descended from the first to the second drop-latch, will have causedthe opposite end to ascend, and thus by means of the rod 11 will have elevated the escape-lever Q, which the snaillel.

allows the camshaft A to makeone-quarter of a revolution. This disengages the bevelwheels 1 and 2, and the catch-box 2 arrests the outward progress of the carriage and stops the deliveries oftlie. ro'llers. The cam-shaft at the same time was arrested in its progress by the stop finger U coming against the stopplate V. This remains there until a suflicient quantity of twist has been given to the yarn, which quantity is regulated by the number of teeth in the twist-wheel 12, which receives its motion'from a worm fixed on. the end of rimshaftX. In the stop-plateVisa notch,through which the stop-finger U is allowed to pass so soon as the yarn has received a suflicient amount of twist. The cam-shaft, beingnow liberated, moves another quarter of a revolution, by which the cams c 0 move thedrivingstrap from fast pulley l) to loose gearing-pulley M on rim-shaft X. The cams E E at the same. time shift the backing-oft wheel F,-with internal cone F attached, which is made to revolve in an opposite direction through a train of wheels from the loose gearing-pulley onto the external cone F, which is made fast to the rim-shaft, (the external cone F has its surface covered with'leathen) and both surfaces, being thus brought into contact, have the effect of first arresting the progress of the rim-shaft X and preventing any more twist being given to the yarn, and afterward turning it in an opposite direction, by which the coils of yarn on the upper part of the spindles above the cop are unwound. While this is proceeding it is requisite that the faller and counter-taller, hereinafter to be described, should be made to act so as to take up the exact quantity of uncoiled yarn. This is accomplished in the following way: A cam or snail is fitted loose on the vertical shaft 3 On a pin projecting from a plate seen at X X, Fig. 2, on the upper part of snail, is a pawl which is lifted out of the teeth of the ratchet- -wheel attached to the vertical shaft 3 when the rim shaft X is turned forward or giving twist to the yarn,-but is made to take hold of the teeth when the motion of the rim-shaft is reversed for the purpose of backing off. This is effected by means of a very slender frictionclip on the nave of the ratchet wheel taking hold of apin in the tail of the pawl, which friction-clip has a tendency to turn in whatever diiec'iou the rim-shalt H is moving. One end of a chain, 13, Fig. 2, is attached to It is then taken over a carrierpulley, 15, and made fast at the other end to a short arm, 16, fixed to the faller. S0 soon as the backing ofi" commences the faller-wire is made'to descend by the action of the snail 14pulling the chain 15'. The snail requires to be proportioned to the quantity of yarn. uncoiled. So soon as the taller 17 begins to, descend the counter-taller 18 is liberated, and havingcounterbalance-weightsattachedkeeps the yarn ina proper state of tension.

- On the faller 17 is keyed a pinion, 19,which works in and gives motion to a sector, 20,

fixed loose upon a cross-shaft, 21. An end view of the shaft of the faller and of the sector is shown in Fig. 4. The faller descends after each stretch-so far as to allow the notch in sector to be brought under a projecting part of the latch 22, which drops into it and then connects the crooked arm 23 with frictionroller 24, attached firmly together. At the same time the projecting piece on latch 22 drops into the notch in sector 20. Itallows the arm 25 to fall, and also another arm, 26, fixed on .the same shaft and connected with the second drop-latch, disengages it. The long lever S again falls and liberates holdingoutlatch2". The opposite end of longlever S, being once more elevated, lifts up escape-lever Qand allows the cam-shaft A to make another quarter of a revolution, in doing which it separates the backing-0d cones, and thus arrests their further progress and puts into gear bevel-wheels 31, and 32, which give motion to the large scroll 50, Figs. 1 and 3, and by means of bands made fast to it at one end and to the carriage a a at the other, the carriage is taken in or made to approach the rollers. When .it arrives within a short distance of the rollers, the faller-wire will have been elevated sofar by the action of the anti-friction pin or roller on coppingrail as during'its ascent to direct the yarn onto the conical part of the cop, from which point the fallerwire is required to ascend more rapidly, which increased speed of elevation leaves the coils of yarn upon the upper part of spindle, which have to be unwound during the process of backing oft. This is accomplished by the anti-friction pin or roller 24, Figs. 2, 4, and 5, moving down an inclined plane at the end of the copping-rail so, and thus, communicating a more rapid motion to the sector 20, elevates the fitller-wire, as before described. The carriage having arrived at its destination nearest the rollers, a finger bolted to the frame disengages the catch 22 from sector 20 and allows the faller to be suiheiently elevated above the yarn. By the action of the springs 29 the counter-fuller (at the same time the anti-friction pin or roller is moving down the inclined plane) is brought a little below the yarn from the point'of the spindles by levers connected with the fallerarm at each end of the mule and acted upon by small rollers fixed to the framing just before the carriage arrives at its inward destination, and it is held there until the carriage is run out by a chain fastened to the counterfaller coupling-shaft at one end, and, passing over a grooved pulley, is made fast at the other end to faller coupling-shaft.

At the same time the anti-friction pin. or roller is moving'down the inclined plane at the end of, the copping-rail 30, as the carriage is approachin g the rollers, a bowl or roller, which is fixed loose upon a stud, 6, and made fast to the back of square coupling piece 0 c in the carriage, is made to act upon an inclined plane or projection, 51, (shown by dotted lines,) on theupper surface of long lever S, and, de

pressing it, causes the rod 11 to pull down escape-lever Q, and thus allows the cam shaft A to make another quarter of a revolution, which disengagcs bevel-wheels 31 and 32, by which the carriage was made to run in, and puts into gear, taking 'out bevel-wheels I 1, front roller catch-box 2, and moves the strap onto fast pulley D on rim-shaft X, andthus the machine is now ready for performing another stretch.

The shaper-rail 33 is bolted to the framing. of headstock or frame 60. Two shapcr-plates, 75 76, Fig. 5, which are connected together by a foar,7 7, are made to slide along the upper surface of the lower projecting rib, 78, on shaper-rail 33. Two forked guide-pins, 41, one fixed near each end of copping-rail 30, are passed through the inclined apertures 62 in the shaper-rail 33 and made to rest on the top of shaper-plates. At the outer end of the shaper-rail 33 a screw, 34,-is fixed which works through a wingnut, 34. One of the shaperplates is attached to the inner endof the winged nut 31, and a ratchet-wheel, 35, is tired on the outer end of said screw, on which operates a'pawl, 36. To a convenient place in the carriage-front is bolted a finger, which may be so adjusted that at each stretch it may elevate the arm 37 so as to cause the ratchetwheel 35 to be moved one or more teeth, as required, and, thus turning the screw 34, move the shaper-pla-tes toward the rollers, which movement allows the copping-rail to-fall, and also to move alit-tle in nearly a horizontal direction toward the rollers, the copping-rail, which is set at a suitable inclination, having an unequal or undulatory surface at diit'erent times to the anti-friction pin or roller 24, and the faller is thereby progre sively prevented from going so low at each succeeding stretch, and thus goes on until the cop is completed.

In Figziil have shown the innerside of the shaper'rail, with the shaper-plates and screw. by which they are moved. 75' 76 are the two shaper-plates, which are connected together by the bar 77. pass theslots 62, rest upon the shaper-plates. The shaperplate is acted on by the screw 34, said screw passing through a nut, 34. The ratchet-wheel 35, which is affixed to the end of the screw, is moved round to the distance of one or two teeth at each of its comings out. v

The required size of the cop must determine the number of teeth in the ratchet-wheel 35; but it will be found, as a general rule, that for nearly every hank in a pound of yarn one tooth maybe reckoned in the ratchetwheel That partof a mule which is usually called the faller, 17, is composed in m y improved mule, as in the common mule, of a shaft the length of the carriage. On one side of this shaft are fixed, at equal distances, a number of arms, 38, which support and keep in a state of tension a wire about one-tenth of an inch in diameter extcndin g across the ends of all the arms. While the carriage is running Two pins, 73 74, which out the faller is kept up by the spiral springs 29, attached at one end to arms on the faller and at the other to a stud on-the carriage parallel with the taller-shaft.

18 is another shaft, of the same strength as t'ie i'aller shaft, and which I call the counterfuller shaft]? supported by bearings in the brackets 39, which support the faller 17. This shaft has also anumber of arms, 64, fixed at one side, at equal distances, carrying at their extremities a wire similar to that called the countertaller in the com mon-mule, and used by me for purposes nearly similar. The wire passes under the yarn at a short distance from the faller and nearer to the rollers, and, being overbalanced bya weighted arm on the other side of the shaft, has a tendency to raise the yarn while the faller is depressing it.

The counter-fuller is connected with the winding-on mechanism in the following way: In Figs. 1 and, 2 a a is a mule-carriage in two parts, one on each side of the headstock, the parts being firmly united by b b, a connectingbar of iron, and c c, an iron frame. To this is bolted in front a frame of iron, (I, which, at its upper part, is supported by e, a spur-piece bolted to the barb and to the frame d.- On. studs in the spur-piece are f f,two ratchett *nsion barrels. To one of these is fastencd, g, a cord, which, after passing over a notch in t'he'spur-piece e, iswound round and fastened to l1 ,a drum or barrel. This has also attached to and coiled round it 1', another cord, which, after passing over j,.a guidepulley, and a notch in the spur-piece, is attached .to the other ratchet barrel. A shaft, Ir, on which is keyed the dlllll'l h, has a pinion, 1, working into m, the toothed quadrant, which receives an alternating motion on its center through an arc of about ninety degrees, while the carriage runs-cut and in' th.at is to say, at every stretch. In a groove in the inner arm of the quadrant is n, a slidingnut, moved by 0, a double threaded leading-screw, on the lower end of which is keyed P, a miterwheel gearing with q, another miter-wheel, the central stud of which is opposite to the center of the quadrant. Attached to the back of miter-wheel q is r, a pu1lcy, which is turned at intervals by S,'an endless strap, passing round it, and round t, a sliding pulley. A weighted lever, 11., called the governor lever, is movable on a stud in the back part of the carriage-frame, and forms the upperjaw of a pair of pinchers, the lower jaw being U, a stud in the carriage end. The lever u, when not intended to press upon the stud o, is carried by an adjustable nut on the lower end of 'w, a rod connected with the arm of the counter-taller and taller by means of a chain and pulley, and having free play through a hole in a side projection from the arm of the lever; When in winding pm the tension of the yarn bringsthe taller-wires to nearly the same level, the dropping of the arm of the coun ter-faller allows the lever u to descend till it pinches the endless strap S against the stud t, and drags it along as the carriage runs in untilthe rise of the counteri'aller' arm again raises the lever and liberates the strap.

The spindles are handed in the ordinary way, and the drums are driven by a band, which, after taking both the grooves in w, the driving-pulley is spliced, instead of passing from the carriage to the twist pulley, as in common mules. The pulley .r is keyed on y, are inclined shaft, the upper end of which turns in a swivel-collar and the lower end or foot in an arm of a bell-crank, '22. During the process of twisting and backing off, the shaftg receives motion through 1, a miterwheel, which is keyed near its lower extremity and is driven by 2, another miterwheel, fixed on 3, a shaft, on which is also keyed 4, a doublegrooved driving-pulley receiving motion by an endless band from H, the twist-pulley above. This pulley-band passes under a carrier-pulley, and over a double-grooved carrier-pulley under the driving-pulley 4, again over pulley 7, and under pulley 4, round 8, a sliding carrier-pulley, under 9, a carrierpulley, and thence to the twistpulley. The miter-wheel 1 comes occasionally into gear with'll), another miter-wheel,

keyed on 11, a shaft upon which is also keyed 12, a spur-wheel, which gears into 13, another spur-wheel firmly connected to 14, a drum or barrel, which is called the winding-on barrel.

The diameters of the wheels 1 and 13 should be made to give as nearly as possible the proper amount of rotation to the spindles according to their diameters and those of the warves, the final adjustment being made in the diameter of the barrel 14, the whole being adapted to give so much motion to the spindles as will cause them to wind on the whole stretch at the first run in. There is a cord, 15, one end of which is tied-to the sliding nut n in the arm of the quadrant m, and the other made fast to the barrel 14, after having made several coils round it, and 16 is an opposed cord, also coiled round and fastened to the barrel l4, and after passing under 17, a carrierpulley, and over 18, another carrier-pulley, it sustains 19, a counterpoise, which causes the barrel to take up the cord 15, as the carria-ge recedes from the rollers.

When the process of backing off is completed, the mechanism for putting up or run ning the carriage in is put in gear, and simultaneously with it, and by the same or any other convenient means, the latch 20 is liberated. The spring 21 then moves the lever 22 so as to disengage the miter-wheels 1 and 2, and connect 1 with 10, the other miter-wheel. So soon as the carriage has run in about two inches, thelatch 20 is allowed to drop against the catch 23, and thus hold the wheels firmly in gear until the carriage has completed thewhole of 'its'run in, when the latch 20 is disengaged from' the catch23 by the inclined plane 24. The lever 22 is then moved by the hcllcrank 25' through the mechanism connected with the cam-shaft, and thus disengages the miter-wheels 1 and 10, and connects again 1 and 2. So soon as the carriage has receded from the rollers one or two inches, the latch 20 is allowed to drop against the catch 23, and thuskeep it to its place the remainderv of the stretch.

The arrangement of the parts described in the last paragraph is that which I have sometimes used ;but in the model which I have deposited in the Patent. (Mice, and also in the mules as I now usually construct them, I vary this arrangement for changing the gear of the miter-wheels 1, 2, and 10, although the gel eral construction and the end arrived at remain unchanged. In Fig. 6 I have given a side view of such portion of the mule as is necessary to explain the modification referred to, showing therein certain parts analogous to those shown in Fig. 1. l havealso in Fig. 7 given a top view orplan ot' the miterwheels 1,2, and 10, and of the bell-crank and other parts of the apparatus, by which the pinion 1. is alternately thrown into and out of gear with the pinions 2 and 10. In each of these figures where the parts are similar to those shown in the other figures they are d:signated by the same letters or numbers. In each of these figures, 22 22 is a lever which is fastened onto a rock-shaft, a a and which, as the carriage runs back and forth, is alternately brought into contact with frictionrollers b b b b, which cause it to move the rock-shaft. The friction-rollers b b are attached' to arms 0 c, which allow them to yield by the action of weights or of springs, so as to cause them to operate without producing a sudden blow. An arm, the end of which is seen at d cl, Fig, 7, rises vertically from the rock-shaft, and has attached to it by a joint pin a link,e e, which is also attached by a joint-pin to the bell-crank f f, which bellcrank works upon a joint-pin at g g. The inner end of this bell-crank forms the step of the shaft y, Fig. 1, carrying the pulley x, and it will be manifest that by the motion of the bellcrank f f upon the pin 9 g, the step will be moved laterally, and that the miter-wheel 1 may be brought into gear with either of the miter-wheels 2 or 10. The shaft h h of the miter-wheel 10 has on it a pinion, i i, which drives the wheel 13, Fig. 2, giving motion to to the drum 14 and to the cords 15 and 16.

In the adaptation of the present improvements to the mule, billey, jenny, jack-frame, or stretching-frame, according to the diameter of the cop to be formed, or the length of the stretch made in the several machines,- it may be requisite to vary the length of the grooved arm of the quadrart. While the carriage is running in, it turns the drum h, its shaft 7:, and the pinion l, which works in the quadrant m. When the quadrant m be gins to move, its grooved aim stands twelve beyond the vertical position from the rollers, and during its action it turns on its center inward, through an arc of about ninety. At

the commencement of a set of cops, the stud in the nut 11, to which the cord 15 is attached, is set opposite, or nearly so, to the center of the quadrant, in which position it suiters no change of place by the motion of the quadrant. Asthe carriage recedes from the point of attachment of cord 15, it causes the rotation of the winding-on drum 14, round which the cord is coiled, and the drum, through the train of wheels 13,12, 10, and 1, that of the pulley ac, which by the spiiulle-drums gives motion to the spindles. The rotation of the spindles during the first run in of the carriage just suffices to wind on the stretch of yarn upon the bare spindles. As the diameter of the cop increases by each succeeding layer, fewer revolutions will be requisite to effect the winding on of the constant length, and therefore the wholequant-ity of motion imparted to the spindles during run in must undergo progressive diminution so long as the diameter of the cop is increasing, which goes on until the bottom is formed. The decrease of motion in the spindles is obtained by lessening the quantity of cord to be un coiled from the windingon barrel, an efi'ect which results from the advance of the nut it along the arm of the quadrant, the ai'nount of the effect being exactly commensurate with the advance, as is apparent when the grooved arm of the quadrant at the end of the run in nearly coincides with the line of traction of the cord '15.

The motion which slides the nut along the quadrant arm is produced iirthis way :During the process of backing off, the spiral coils of yarn are unwound from the ends of the spindles and the'faller is depressed, when the counter-fuller, by its balance-weight, rises and takes up the uncoiled 0r slack yarn, and thus the faller-wires keep up the tension as the yarnisuncoiled. While the carriageis running in, the spindles, in winding on the stretch of yarn, talieup bydegrees the coilyarn also, and as this is ett'ected the taller-wires are brought to nearly the same level at the first run in. This approach of the taller-wires takes place only as the carriage comes up to the rollers.

The power of winding on increases as the diameter of the cop enlarges. In the subsequent stretches the coil yarn gets taken up before the carriage has run home, and when this occurs the descent of the counter-taller allows the governor-lever u to fall and to pinch the endless strap S against the stud a. With the motion of the carriage the strap is dragged along and turns the leadingscrew 0, which slides the nut to toward the circumference of the quadrant. The strap continues to be dragged until the retardation of the taking up from the diminished velocity of the spindles thus produced permits the counter-taller again to rise and relieve the strap from the pinch of thelever. In this way the nut a is made to advance upon the quadrant arm in proportion as the expanding diameter of the cop accelerates the action of winding on, and a correspondent abatement in the whole number of revolutions of the spindles is the result. a As soon as the cop has attained its full diameteh-that is, when the bottom is formedthe'winding-on power then remaining uniform, the governor-lever is no longer made to act upon the strap, and consequently the nut n travels no farther from the center of the quadrant during the completion of the cop. Besides the adjustment of the whole amount of winding-on motion, each stretch is adjusted to the growing diameterof the cop, which is effected by causing the point of attachment of the drag-cord 15 to advance progressively upon therim of the barre] 14. The grooved arm of the quadrant by carrying the point of attachment of cord 15, after the first stretch,-through an arc'of about ninety degrees at each run in, causes the cord to be uncoiled from the barrel 14 by a ratio increasing as the carriage recedes from. the quadrant, and this variable rotation of the barrel is increased by the successive shifts of the nut n from the center of the quadrant, thus adapting the rotation of the spindles to the winding on powers of the cop, its various diameters from the base to the summit of the cone.

Although I have included in the foregoing description many parts and devices which are well known and in common use in machines of this description, and have'also embraced in said description the manner of producing the action of the fallers' in the self aeting mule, and likewise many other mechanical devices of my invention, which were described and claimed by me in Letters Patent granted unto me in Great Britain on the 29th day of March, 1825, I do not make claim to any or either of these parts, devices, or mechanical contrivances, the same being now public property and free to be used by any person 5 nor have I deemed it necessary in the present instrument to furnish a minute description of the same, but have referred to them as known and understood by those conversant with machinery of this description, and for further explanations thereof I refer to the specification enrolled under said Lettars Patent of the 29th of March, 18 :5, and also to the second volume of a published and wellknown work entitled The Cotton Manufacture of Great Britain, by Andrew Ure,

M. 1)., F. t. 8., published in the year 1836,

and in which work is included also a description of the improvements which I now claim as not having been included in the abovenamed Letters Patent of 1825, and which relate exclusiveiy' to the quadrantm and its appendages, with the use to which they, are applied. I

Having also now described my improved mechanism for adapting the rotation of the spindles to theregular taking up of the yarn as the form and diameter of the cop changes.

describes an arc while the winding-on drum is receding from the point of attachment of the cord in a right line. This compound motion adjusts the rotation of the spindles to the varying power of taking up by the conical cop, as the yarn or rowing is being coiled on its diflercnt diameters during the winding on of each stretch.

Secondly During the progress of the formation of a'cop the situation of the point of attachment of the uncoiled end of the cord, strap, or chain on the radial arm is changed progressively, as the increasing b ulk'of the cop demands fewer revolutions of the spindles to take up the stretch, and consequently there is a shorter length of the cord to be uncoiled' from the barrel.

And I declare that the form and proportions of the different 'parts of my improved mule, as well as the materials of which the same may be composed, may be varied according-t0 the discretion of the workman employed in constructing the same without departing from the object and principle of my improvements.

RIOHD. ROBERTS. Witnesses:

JAMES HIBBERT, BENJAMIN FOTHERGILL. 

